industrial lord

Chapter 753 Fiery Incineration of the Enemy
In the pitch-black pine forest, the outposts set up by the Allied forces heading south were distributed about 500 meters away from their respective camps.

The dense, towering pine forest greatly obstructed the sentries' view, preventing them from seeing that, about a kilometer away deep in the dense forest, someone was nimbly climbing up a tall tree and carefully hanging thick, gleaming metal cylinders from the bare branches high above.

When these people jumped from the trees and landed, the thick layer of pine needles that had accumulated over the years provided perfect cushioning, making no sound at all.

On the map, the staff marked the labels representing these secret deployment points one by one, gradually forming a huge circle with a diameter of about three kilometers, like a noose, firmly trapping the five camps of the Allied southward army at the center.

At four in the morning, all was quiet, and the chill was at its deepest.

A staff officer strode over to Stefan and reported in a low voice, "Commander, the first phase of deployment is complete."

Stefan picked up the half-empty bottle of soda, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

Then, he slowly began to speak, in an operatic tone: "The telegraph changed the world and reshaped how society works."

“However, many people seem to have forgotten that its original design purpose was not to transmit sound…” He paused, his eyes sharp, “but to remotely activate magic nodes.”

After saying that, he opened the lid of the black iron box in his hand, revealing a very conspicuous red button.

Without the slightest hesitation, Stefan used all his strength and pressed down resolutely.

He handed the box to the staff officer beside him and said casually, "Press it a few more times to avoid missing anything due to poor signal."

After saying that, he picked up another unopened bottle of soda from beside him, unscrewed the cap, and gulped it down.

After finishing a bottle of soda, hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent. A guard lifted the curtain and entered, his voice tinged with shock: "Commander! We can already see lines of fire in the distant eastern sky!"

Stefan stood up upon hearing this, stretched his stiff limbs from sitting for so long, and said in a calm tone, "We should prepare to retreat. Although the wind is currently stable, anything can happen. If we get ourselves into trouble, we won't be in a military textbook, but in a joke book."

Just as the command center personnel began to tidy up in an orderly manner, the eastern horizon was already illuminated with a magnificent orange-red hue.

At first, only tiny, finger-sized fires fell onto the dry pine trees, sticking to the trunks like snot.

With the help of persistent and extremely strong northerly winds, the fire spread rapidly.

The initial spread rate of a wildfire in the wild is the product of the fire spread rate in the absence of wind, the wind speed correction factor, and the combustible material configuration correction factor, divided by the average ground slope correction factor. The fire spread rate in the absence of wind is inversely proportional to the moisture content of the combustible material.

This shows that the rate of wildfire spread increases rapidly due to two main factors: increased wind speed and the drying of nearby vegetation by the flames before it burns.

In less than ten minutes, the fires spread from one spot to another. The surrounding air was heated and rose due to buoyancy, which increased the wind speed and blew the burning branches away.

Gradually, the plumes of smoke, moving at the speed of an average person walking, formed a wall.

The wind grew stronger, blowing the burning branches further and further away, igniting the dry shrubs and fallen leaves on the ground. In a moment, flames rose from the ground, igniting the branches above.

The oily resin of the pine trees became an excellent accelerant, and each ignited pine tree quickly transformed into a huge, crackling torch, bursting forth with countless blazing sparks, which were swept up by the violent wind and hurled like burning raindrops into the distant forest.

At this point, the formula no longer has any effect, and the speed at which the flames spread depends on how far the wind blows the burning sparks.

The wind fanned the flames, and the fire, fueled by the wind, created a devastating cycle.

A line of fire turned into a sea of ​​fire, the flames twisting and roaring like countless greedy fiery pythons, frantically devouring the entire pine forest to the south.

The air, scorching hot enough to distort vision, churned and billowed, thick smoke rising like a heavy black curtain, forming a massive column of smoke that blotted out the sky and could be clearly seen even from more than ten kilometers away.

Grositz drank a few more cups and was awakened from his sleep by the earth-shaking noise of the camp, the terrified neighing of warhorses, and the pungent, nauseating smell of smoke in the air.

He rushed out of the tent, and the scene before him made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his blood almost freezing. The vast pine forest surrounding the camp had turned into a boiling, churning sea of ​​fire, the raging flames seeming to have come alive, leaping and surging among the treetops, emitting a terrifying roar.

A wave of heat hot enough to scorch the skin rushed towards them, and countless burning sparks poured down like a torrential rain from hell, easily igniting the tents, piles of hay, and even the soldiers' clothing at the edge of the camp!

"Forest fire!"

"Run away!"

The screams, distorted with terror, echoed in every corner.

"Get up! Put out the fire! Quickly, get the horses!"

The entire camp erupted into chaos, and order was completely lost.

Soldiers poured out of the burning tents like headless flies. Some tried in vain to extinguish the sparks that had fallen on the camp, while others rushed haphazardly to the hitching posts, trying to untie their terrified warhorses.

However, warhorses have an instinctive and extreme fear of fire and smoke. The flames were far greater than during training. They neighed in terror, struggled and jumped desperately. Many horses broke free of their reins and ran rampant through the chaotic camp, knocking down and trampling soldiers, further exacerbating the chaos and casualties.

Even more deadly was the fact that the strong north wind continuously poured thick smoke into the camp, causing people to cough violently, have difficulty breathing, have blurred vision, and even have difficulty finding their way.

"Calm down! Maintain order! Follow my orders!"

Grositz roared at the top of his lungs, trying to turn the tide, but his voice was so weak in the enormous clamor.

"Abandon the camp! Everyone, take your weapons and horses, and immediately retreat to the riverbank, then retreat westward into the open area along the river!"

"Quick! Get out!"

He instantly realized that extinguishing the forest fire was futile; the most urgent task was to preserve manpower and escape the deadly inferno.

The wind was coming from the north, and there were fires on all sides. Running against the wind or with the wind was futile. The only way to escape the fire was to choose a direction perpendicular to the wind and use the river. There was a town to rely on to the west, where Father Perth came from, and there were traces of what appeared to be Wessen's army to the east.

However, transmitting orders became extremely difficult, even impossible.

The fire spread much faster than the worst expectations, especially the two northernmost camps, which were quickly engulfed by the spreading flames and the dense rain of fire falling from the sky, turning them into huge crematoriums.

Grositz ordered his servants to raise his flag high to guide the crowd to follow him in their escape.

This method worked very well; like headless flies finding a target, the crowd followed the flag and fled.

But morale was hopeless. The organization completely collapsed, and everyone abandoned their armor and weapons to escape for their lives. Pushing and trampling each other was a common sight, and countless people were knocked down and trampled by the frightened horses.

The icy river became the only way out. Countless soldiers and horses jumped into the frigid water without hesitation, crossing the narrow river that only reached their thighs, and retreated westward under the cover of the river.

Grositz breathed a sigh of relief. Although the small river could not stop the fire from spreading and sparks could easily cross the river with the wind, it could still give the soldiers some psychological comfort in the short term, making command much easier.

They soon arrived at the burning woods to the west. A small river, more than 20 meters wide, flowed through the fire area, which was nearly 100 meters wide, with a wisp of steam rising slightly from the surface.

Everyone saw a glimmer of hope for survival and rushed to jump into the river, wading through the water to escape the inferno.

Stefan had been waiting there for a long time. He picked up the walkie-talkie and gave the order: "Free fire."

(End of this chapter)